^^ This in an iconic movie, especially for those fascinated by Aircrafts.. fighter jets.. I visit the air show in Dayton, Ohio almost every year.. they do a recreation of the Tora Tora Tora.

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This movie showcases the battle of Isandhlwana where the Zulu nation gave a big defeat to the invading British in southern africa in late nineteenth century .

The war begins with a message from the british to the Zulu king that he kills people arbitrarily while on the other hand the british queen cannot kill her lowliest subject without trial ; thus the Zulu nation which is allegedly lawless must be brought under british control . The Zulu king replies that the Zulu have their own laws and even he kills people only according to their laws . But do the british imperialists care about such replies when the intention is naked imperialism ? no they don't .

The british and Zulu camps are shown preparing for war . Before that there is the marriage ritual of Zulu women with their men . Masses of free naked Zulu women run with their breasts openly hanging out to choose their husbands in a vast tribal mating programme crying war cries from their mouths . In contrast the genteel british women are fully covered from head to toe typical of Victorian times . British men dream of romancing them from afar but don't dare approach . I wondered which culture was free ?

As war is declared the aggressor british cross the river marking the boundary between the two nations . They are armed with rifles and artillery guns and some are mounted on horses . They camp for the night . Next day their advanced units cross the mountains to stumble upon an awesome sight---thirty to forty thousand Zulu warriors have assembled to give national resistance to the invaders . They are mostly armed with spears and shields but their number is overwhelming . And their intentions are ferocious .

The advanced units double back to warn the main army of the approaching horde , but it is too late and some of the british officers are frankly unbelieving . They sit for a formal meal with drinks and fruits .

Soon the advancing Zulus make mincemeat of a separated unit of the british troops by trapping them in a shallow gorge and then surrounding them and killing them . Then they attack the main army . The british are confident that their superior firepower will prevail , but the numbers of Zulus killed by firing of rifles by the disciplined british soldiers are too piddly to matter . Nor does firing of artillery guns or mortars do much impact . The Zulus simply don't care about their losses and keep on advancing .

Overwhelmed by the Zulu attack , the british cavalry retreat leaving the infantry to fend for themselves . The infantry are cut down where they stand . All that is left now is to save the union jack by running off with the british flag . But the Zulus manage to capture even that by overrunning the horsemen desperately trying to cross the river back into british territory . A gallant british soldier kills the Zulu warrior running off with the flag and the flag drowns in the river .

The movie really shows armies of considerable size maneuver on the battlefield . The british are in red uniforms and full of spit and polish . the Zulu warriors are half naked but fierce . Colours and photography and background music is good . Burt Lancaster plays the colonel leading the british troops .

Orlando Bloom plays Balian , a blacksmith living in France . His wife has committed suicide , and a priest beheads her before burial . Balian kills him in revenge . Meanwhile some crusaders have approached him for going to the holy land ( Jerusalem ) where a crusader kingdom has been established by defeating the muslims , and Balian agrees to accompany them in hope of getting forgiveness for his and his wife's sins . But the law has come to catch up with him and the crusaders have to fight those who have come to arrest Balian for the priest's murder . The crusaders' leader is fatally injured in the fight . On the journey to the holy land he dies , but before that he has knighted Balian .

The ship in which Balian is sailing runs aground in a storm and he is the sole survivor . Balian is attacked by a muslim cavaliar but manages to kill him in the ensuing fight . He spares the cavaliar's companion and asks him to take him to Jerusalem . In Jerusalem he has prestige due to his knighthood and he wins the heart of the king's sister Sibylla ( played by the beautiful Eva Green ) and they have passionate lovemaking scenes . The king has leprosy and he is going to die , leaving the kingdom in the hands of Sibylla's husband Guy and his ally Reynald . Both are warmongers and are recklessly baying for muslim blood even though the muslims have gathered a bigger army under their leader Salahuddin ( Saladin ) .

After the king dies , the two declare war on Saladin by killing his sister who has come as a peace emissary . They decide to march on his army inspite of warnings by Balian that if they march away from water sources they will be cut off from water in the desert by Saladin's huge army . But Reynald and Guy are eager for glory and attack . Here what has been predicted by Balian happens and they are cut off from water and their army dies of thirst . They are captured by Saladin and Reynald is beheaded by him as it he who has killed his sister . But I was disappointed as this battle of Hattin was not actually shown , maybe because the film's hero had no part in it . Of course , the full armies of the opposing forces are shown in all their glory with the muslims flying their green flags and christians brandishing a huge cross .

Now Jerusalem is vulnerable to the muslims and Balian is called upon to defend it . He rouses the common townsfolk to fight by knighting them . This siege of Jerusalem is shown in full and one gets to see the full fighting . And one must say it has been filmed well . The muslims erect siege towers after marching with their vast cavalry to the walls of the city with standards flying---a formidable sight . As one by one the siege towers are broken by the defenders , Balian is there in the thick of the fighting . Finally the muslims detect one part of the wall which is weak . They attack with firetipped arrows which again is a breathtaking sight with fire being rained all over the city . Finally they bombard with catapults and fiery shells land on the walls breaking them . Behind the defenders are waiting and a massive fight breaks out under Balian's command in which thousands of saracens ( as the muslims are called by the crusaders ) are killed .

Next day Saladin asks for a meeting as his forces are frustrated by the fight shown by the slender number of troops that Balian possesses . Even though the odds are stacked against the defenders due to the vast size of the invading saracens , Balian vows to destroy every monument sacred to every religion in the holy city if it comes to a fight to the finish . Afraid that muslim sacred places will also be destroyed , Saladin agrees to allow the christians unmolested out of the city if the city is handed over to him .

Balian is hailed as a hero by Jerusalem's population for saving it from massacre at the hands of the saracens , and queen Sibylla accompanies him to France on the return journey . They have barely settled down when king Richard the Lionheart of England comes to him asking Balian to march with him to reconquer Jerusalem . But Balian refuses . As he and Saladin both have agreed , a lot of bloodshed would be saved if nothing had been left in Jerusalem's spot to fight over . A thousand years later , peace in the holy land is still elusive....

The ending left me with emotion , as did the events in the second half of the movie . The movie is more than three hours long , and takes time to get you in it's grip . But when it does get a grip , it is well worth watching . Colours are darkish but photography is good , especially of grand armies and their fanatical soldiers---for it was the age of the religious fervour of the crusades . Background music is decent and so is the acting by everyone .

Verdict---Good .

Three and a half stars out of five .

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During the time of the British empire , many Indians from India were brought to Uganda in Africa as indentured labourers . Gradually they were freed and stayed on in Uganda . After Uganda got it's freedom they began to believe that they were Ugandans more than Indians . However they retained their original ( mostly hindu ) religion and Indian culture .

But they were mostly originated from the mercantile community of the Indian state of Gujarat and were very industrious . Their prosperity grew more than common Ugandans and this caused resentment among native Ugandans towards them . Taking advantage of this resentment , Idi Amin who became dictator of Uganda ordered all of them out of the country in 1972 . They were divided and some of them went back to India , some to Britain , and some of them were taken by USA .

This movie shows the travails of a family that lived in Uganda until forced by Idi Amin to leave , and were later settled in Mississippi in USA . The head of the family is Jay ( Roshan Seth ) , who is deeply attached to his roots in Uganda . Even when in USA he pines for going back , and writes letters to the Ugandan government to get back his property and citizenship after Idi Amin has fallen from power . He also is affected by the fact that his best friend from Uganda said that Africa belongs to the Africans when it came to say goodbye to him ; this even though that African man gave his own money to release Jay from jail when Jay began to write against Idi Amin and was arrested for that .

Jay however feels that his African friend betrayed his friendship and has resentment towards the black community . He has now settled among Indians originated from Gujarat and they have become prosperous in Mississippi . Because of their relatively fairer skin and economic success this community takes on the airs and attitudes of white people in USA .

But Jay's daughter Mina has darker skin and this worries her mother Kinnu ( Sharmila Tagore ) , for she feels that Mina won't be able to get a good match among her community . But precisely due to her darker skin , Mina has no problems with black people and secretly begins to date a young black man called Demetrius ( Denzel Washington ) . She mingles with his family and charms them all .

And soon her love leads to bedroom sessions in motels . The love making is aesthetically pictured and I began to like Sarita Choudhury's ( the actress playing Mina ) lovely dark honey coloured exposed skin and her belly and and navel and her just barely exposed breasts---you are given a bare glimpse of those lovely orbs .

But some Gujarati Indian Americans have got wind of the affair and they rush into the room to beat Demetrius . As he fights back they call the police and he and Mina are both caught by police but later released . Demetrius gets his reputation besmirched and his business of cleaning carpets is in losses as no one wants to deal with a black man who was caught by the police beating rich people .

Demetrius tries to contact Mina but she has been effectively cut off from him by her parents . The parents have to confront the fact that their daughter is not an Indian but an American , and she tells them that she has her own mind like an American girl .

What brings the situation to boil is the letter that Jay receives from Uganda that his case will be heard in court , and he wants to take his family back to Uganda . But Mina revolts and chases the by now reluctant Demetrius and forces him to elope with her because she loves him and does not want to go to Uganda .

So Jay is forced to travel to Uganda alone and when lands he realises that the Uganda of old is gone ; he has no place in the new Uganda . His home is now America , and his family is like masala---a mixture of spices which have some Indian and some Ugandan and some American flavour but they all come to ultimately settle in Mississippi....Mississippi Masala .

Acting be everyone is decent and colours and photography are okay too . Music is good and turns emotional whenever Jay remembers his beloved Uganda .

I began to like Sarita Choudhury's ( the actress playing Mina ) lovely dark honey coloured exposed skin and her belly and and navel and her just barely exposed breasts---you are given a bare glimpse of those lovely orbs .

Three stars out of five .

You get a good glimpse of those in Kamasutra - a tale of love.

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This is quite a game, politics. There are no permanent enemies, and no permanent friends,only permanent interests. - Some Firang